


Lives Saved and Secrets Revealed

by Jeep_Girl



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Endgame Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, Kara Danvers Tells Lena Luthor About Being Supergirl, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27423745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeep_Girl/pseuds/Jeep_Girl
Summary: A slightly different version of the events that transpired between Kara/Supergirl, Lena, Lillian, and Cadmus in Season 2…
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 14
Kudos: 190





	Lives Saved and Secrets Revealed

**Author's Note:**

> My friend FleshEater on Discord requested for someone to write a oneshot fanfic based on a specific picture of Lena and Kara. I took up the challenge. Hope you all like it.

When Lena realized what was about to happen, she had to do something to stop it. She couldn’t just let her mother kill Supergirl. But it all happened so fast. She barely had time to react. She was able to use the sonic device her dear brother had left at the bunker to her advantage by altering it slightly. It set off a series of other devices throughout the bunker with its high-pitched frequency. Causing a wave of chaos to ensure. Cyborg Superman began freaking out and going after the devices. Lillian, somehow managed to vanish in an instant. More importantly, this provided a much needed distraction so Lena could get to Supergirl, who by now was laying prone on the ground… a mix of red and green seeping out of her chest as the kryptonite sword stuck out, dangerously close to her heart, or at least Lena had assumed it was close to where her heart was. She wasn’t sure exactly given her alien biology. Supergirl was writhing in pain, still conscious. While the fear and panic in the hero’s eyes was completely unsettling for Lena, she would have to pack that up and process it later… or never. Right now, she had to use the few seconds she had to get them help.

“Supergirl” Lena says firmly as she kneels down, trying to get the woman on the ground to focus on her, “Is there anyone you can call for help?”

Lena sees a completely new wave of fear and panic flash through the hero’s eyes for a second, though she isn’t sure why. “Boot,” Supergirl says with a rough, ragged breath as she nods to her right foot. Lena quickly but gently reaches down and pulls off the boot, quickly locating a phone. It’s when she hits the home button and sees the background photo that it hits Lena why she saw the second wave of panic and fear flash across Supergirl’s face… Across Kara’s face.

It’s almost like time slows down as Lena raises her head up to look back at the hero… her newest and only friend in National City… or so she thought. Another thought train Lena can’t afford to unpack right now.

Kara is looking at her with utter sorrow in her eyes. “Call Alex. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” And with those words, Kara, overcome by the pain, passes out.

“Shit… Kara, Kara, stay with me!” Lena says urgently, shaking her shoulders. “Shit shit shit.” Lena uses Kara’s thumb to unlock her phone, quickly finding Alex’s contact information and dialing the number. She is thankful when someone answers on the first ring.

“Kara! Hey, we were worried when we lost you on the comms. Is everything ok? Did you find Lena?”

Lena chokes back a sob, now holding an unconscious Kara in her lap. “Alex, it’s Lena Luthor. You need to get here as fast as you can.”

“What happened?”

“Alex… just get here.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It felt like time had slowed down or completely stopped as Lena waited for Alex to arrive. She stared down at the unconscious blond, trying to process the events and reconcile the fact that the cheeky, adorable blond reporter that Lena has been enjoying make blush as she somewhat shamelessly flirted with over the past several months was also the stoic, proud Superhero from Krypton.

This information of course gave Lena pause. Perhaps Kara was only pretending to befriend her, to like her. She had written such a nice article about her and about Lcorp. But maybe it was just to keep her close, to keep an eye on her because she is a Luthor.

Words from several months ago when Lena betrayed her own mother ring in her hears.

_Be your own hero_

That had been Supergirl. But also, it had been Kara. Both supporting Lena.

Another memory from just the other day pops into Lena’s mind. One of Maggie showing up at Lcorp to arrest her… and Kara demanding that Lena be given a chance to explain.

And then of course… Supergirl showing up here… tonight… when she didn’t have to. She didn’t have to come. Lena knows that. She came for Lena.

_Kara Danvers believes in you._

Lena shakes her head, willing away the tears fighting their way to the surface. She tucks a strand of blond hair behind Kara’s ear. “Please hang on, please keep fighting.”

As she waits, Lena attempted to assess the damage to Kara without removing the sword. She sees the cut down Kara’s back from before they stabbed her in the front, it isn’t deep but it is bleeding, so Lena takes her jacket off and uses it to put pressure on Kara’s backside. She holds the hero in her arms, holding the sword steady so it doesn’t do any more damage, and waits.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex finally arrives with J’ohnn and several DEO agents. J’ohnn instructs the agents to clear the area. Unsurprising, they don’t find Lillian, Metallo, or Cyborg Superman. Alex runs to Kara and immediately begins assessing the damage, going into agent/doctor mode right away. It helps Lena also refocus on the task at hand – saving the life of her best friend. After getting Kara carefully onto a gurney and into a transport, the team immediately heads back to the DEO to begin working on saving Kara’s life.

Alex and Lena are riding in the back of the transport with Kara. Lena hasn’t let go of Kara’s hand the entire time since Alex showed up. She also hasn’t said a single word. Now that Kara is stable though, Alex has questions that she wants answers too. And they have a few minutes before they will be back at the DEO.

“Lena, what happened to her?”

Lena, looking somewhat glazed in the eyes, looks from Kara’s face to Alex. “You have to let me help… I have to help. I can help save her.”

Alex, frustrated by the lack of Lena’s response to her question, but also shocked by Lena’s demand, blurts out “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”

“Lillian…” Lena says, fading out for a moment, clearly fighting back tears again as her lips tremble. “She shouldn’t have come for me. Why did she come for me Alex?”

Alex, trained in reading body language and the ability to detect when someone is lying, can tell that Lena isn’t faking, she isn’t putting on some act right now. She genuinely thinks she isn’t worth saving. And it is in that moment that Alex realizes that maybe Kara was right all along about Lena. That maybe she isn’t just another Luthor.

Alex takes a breath. “Alright, Lena. You can help. To be honest, she has never been hurt this badly before… so I think I am going to need all the help I can get…”

Lena nods to show her understanding before she goes back to staring at Kara’s face. She doesn’t let go of Kara’s hand until they are back at the DEO and start trying to extract the sword and save her life.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a grueling nine hours. Kara flatlined more than once. Lena was right – the kryptonite sword barely missed Kara’s heart. However, the kryptonite did plenty of damage anyway. Kara was bleeding internally in several places. The cut down her back continued to bleed for hours as well. Alex and Lena worked side by side all nine hours, doing their best with Kara’s unconscious, now drugged, body. They worked internally and outside, trying to keep it together. It was all Alex and Lena could do to keep Kara from losing any more blood. They couldn’t exactly give her a transfusion.

Nine hours later, they slowly wheeled Kara into the med bay recovery area, placing her under the yellow sun lamps. Both women not wanting to leave Kara’s side, simply slumped down unto the floor, too exhausted physically and emotionally to even find a chair for themselves. Despite being only acquaintances a day ago, having spent the last nine hours working side by side to save Kara’s life makes them feel like they have reached an entirely new level of closeness. They both know that the other would do anything for Kara Danvers, for Supergirl. Because they were one in the same.

Leaning against the wall in the med bay so that they could see Kara and the monitors, they are sitting shoulder to shoulder. Both women have their eyes closed, though neither is able to sleep despite the exhaustion.

After a few minutes of silence, Alex decides to break the quiet. “Lena?” She is answered by a soft hum from the dark-haired woman beside her. “How did you find out? Did Kara tell you?”

Lena takes in a long, deep breath. She knew this was going to come up eventually. “Not directly… I used some of Lex’s old toys to distract Cadmus so I could get to her… to help her… I asked her if she could call someone to help… all she said was… boot… When I pulled the phone out… let’s just say it was a bit of a shock to see a picture of myself with my best friend staring back.”

Alex shakes her head, not believing how this has unfolded. “Shit… I’m sorry Lena. You shouldn’t have found out like that… Kara wanted to be the one to tell you eventually.” She remembers how adamant Kara was, defending Lena. How Kara trusts Lena so much already.

This comment from Alex is new information, new data, that Lena didn’t have before. She can’t help herself; she must know. She opens her eyes and turns her head to Alex and asks, “When? When was she going to tell me Alex?”

Alex takes a breath and lets it out slowly. She can feel Lena’s eyes on her, so she finally opens her own eyes, returning the stare as she answers. “Look Lena… you have to understand, Kara… Supergirl, works with the DEO. So, it’s our job, my job, to protect her identity. Even if she wanted to tell you, J’ohnn and I would recommend that she doesn’t, at least not for a while. The more people that know… the more danger she is… but also, when you know her identity… it puts you in danger too…”

Lena, not breaking eye contact with Alex, responds. “Alex, my family just tried to frame me. They try to assassinate me regularly. My life is already in danger.”

Alex smirks and closes her eyes as she says, “Touché, Luthor.”

Lena, having a better understanding of the pressure Kara is under when it comes to staring her identity, doesn’t say anything else to Alex after that. The two women go back to sitting in silence and eventually drift off to sleep.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a full thirty hours later when Kara finally opens her eyes again. She comes out of it slowly, like she is just waking up from a deep slumber, but she doesn’t remember falling asleep. As she opens her eyes, she takes in the warmth from the yellow sunlamps, as she lets her brain catch up with her body. Beyond the sunlamps she sees a curtain around her, giving her a makeshift room within the med bay. So, she is at the DEO, in the med bay. Flashes of the fight suddenly flood Kara’s system as she remembers the events from the previous days. Oh, Cadmus, Lillian, Lena! Her eyes go wide as she attempts to sit up, but she is suddenly hit with a wave of pain and nausea.

“Woah there Supergirl, I’d take it easy if I were you.” Kara hears the voice, but she is frantic for the few seconds it takes for the person it belongs to, to appear within her field of view. Finally, the green-eyed dark-haired women appears from behind the curtain.

Lena. She is alive. Kara relaxes as she lets out the breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Kara remembers showing up at the Cadmus base, Lena being so thrilled to see her… and then chaos… the kryptonite weapon… being plunged into her chest… then Lena, precious Lena coming to her aid… she must have saved Kara, gotten her out somehow. That’s all she can remember.

“How are you feeling?” Lena asks, pulling Kara from her thoughts for a moment. She clears her throat, wanting to make sure it will work. “I’m… ok… I think… still weak… and nauseous.”

“That’s to be expected. You were gravely injured.” Kara watches as Lena starts checking over her charts and monitors. “Now, I’m going to help you sit up so we can change over your bandages, is that ok?” Kara nods. Lena makes her way over to Kara’s bedside and carefully helps Kara to sit up and lean forward. She again gets Kara’s consent to remove the DEO shirt they had haphazardly put on Kara to cover her up after the hours-long surgery.

Kara, though still weak from the fight and apparently almost dying, can’t help that her cheeks redden slightly. She can’t deny that from the moment she met Lena, she has been undeniably flustered by the woman. Even now, as she meticulously and gently cares for Kara’s wounds, Kara can’t help but feel the strong pull towards her.

Kara is hit with a wave of guilt. It’s the one that she is increasing feeling when around Lena. This woman has saved the city, saved all the aliens, and has saved Kara yet again. Yet she can’t just tell her who she is. Kara presses her lips firm together as she thinks to herself _No, not anymore. No more lies._

“Lena… I have to tell you something.” Kara blurts it out before she has time to convince herself not to do it.

Lena finishes up changing the bandages on Kara and steps back slightly, looking into Kara’s ocean blue eyes. She puts her hand down on top of Kara’s and smiles. She says quietly, “I already know.”

Kara’s eye flash, again that same fear and panic Lena saw what feels like ages ago now. “But… how? Aren’t you mad at me?” Kara is genuinely baffled by Lena’s quiet, reserved response. She doesn’t know how to take it and so she starts stammering and stuttering instead. Lena quickly puts her hand up to Kara’s mouth to stop her though. She gives Kara another gentle smile.

“Kara… all my life my family have used secrets to manipulate each other. So yes, upon realizing that my best friend and Supergirl were one in the same as she lay on the ground with kryptonite in her chest a few days ago… my brain did tell me that you did it for the same reason… that you pretended to be my friend just to keep tabs on me because I am a Luthor… at first… but then I remembered all the little moments… the moments that Kara stood up for me… the moments that Supergirl showed up and helped me or protected me or saved my life… and I realized that you either are an even better liar and manipulator than Lex and Lillian… or you were being genuine. That you did truly believe in me and did want to be my friend… and I choose to believe that you, Kara Danvers, were being honest with me… because I think you were being honest with me in all the other ways that counted… with how you feel, how you care, and who you are as a person.”

“Lena… I…” Kara, unable to hold in the emotion any longer, lets the tears flow freely as she bends forward, outstretching her arm towards Lena, who sits down on the bed and leans into the embrace that Kara is asking for. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you.” Kara manages to get the statement out before breaking down completely. Lena holds her as she cries. It’s clear to Lena just how much of a burden it is for Kara to carry her secret identity. And how much it weighs on her when she has to decide whether to tell someone new about it. Lena doesn’t envy the position Kara is in at all by being Supergirl. She must make so many sacrifices and carry so many more burdens now that she wears the cape.

Kara cries herself out in Lena’s arms. When she finally pulls away, she looks into Lena’s eyes deeply as she says, “Thank you for understanding.” Lena smiles and nods in response. There is a moment of silence that fills the air before either woman becomes aware again that Kara is still topless. Remembering this fact, Lena glances down at Kara’s chest, trying to take in the almost fully healed appearance to replace the bloody version currently seared into her own brain.

Lena isn’t fast enough though because Kara catches her staring and smirks. Wanting to lighten the mood after her emotional breakdown, she jokingly says, “You see something you like there Ms. Luthor?”

Lena, sensing the flirty banter from Kara, smirks right back and leans in towards Kara, their faces a few inches apart as she whispers, “Oh Darling, you’ll have to buy me dinner first.” She even winks as she finishes the statement for extra emphasis. This has the desired effect, as Kara simply ends up stammering over her words as her face turns red, completely flustered. Lena chuckles to herself as she backs away, happy to see she can still get under her best friends skin, despite the fact that it is actually mostly impenetrable.

Feeling like things are ok between them, Lena knows Kara still needs to finish healing. She tells Kara to get some rest and that she will be back later to check in on her. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, Kara is completely healed thanks to the power of the sunlamps. She is getting her last check up from Alex before being cleared to go when Lena comes back into the med bay. Kara is currently sitting with her feet dangling down the side of the bed as Alex runs her last set of tests.

“Ah, there you are!” Kara exclaims upon seeing Lena.

“Where was that greeting when I came in?” Alex laments. Lena smirks behind her back, loving every second of this interaction already.

“Hey… I’ve seen you more today than I have Lena. Speaking of, where have you been?” Kara asks her.

“Well, I had some fires to put out at Lcorp. I hadn’t been back since before being arrested, so I suppose that makes sense…” Lena trails off, hoping Kara won’t pick up on exactly what Lena just said.

But Kara is smarter than she lets on, as Lena now knows. It takes Kara three seconds.

“Wait – today is the first day you’ve been back at Lcorp? Have you been here at the DEO the entire time since we came back from the Cadmus bunker?”

Lena’s shoulders tensed; she was busted. Alex, sensing that this conversation was about to take a turn towards the more serious, eyes Kara and Lena curiously for a moment before excusing herself from the room. She gives Lena a final, soft but knowing look before exiting.

Lena takes a breath. “Yes Kara, I wanted to make sure you would be ok… plus, Alex needed help once we got you back here… So, I helped.”

“You helped Alex… remove the sword…”

“Yes.”

“And then you helped monitor me…”

“Yes.”

“And stayed here… even after I woke up?”

“Yes Kara.”

“Would you have done that, if you didn’t know I was Supergirl?”

This question made Lena stop wringing her hands together, which she didn’t realize she was doing as she stood at the edge of Kara’s bed. She looked up to see Kara now standing and walking towards her slowly. Lena knows the answer to Kara’s question. She just doesn’t know if she wants to voice it out loud.

“Well?” Kara asks quietly as she steps up in front of Lena.

Lena’s voice trembles slightly as she starts to answer. “No… of course not… I would have helped Alex through the surgery but once Supergirl was stable, I would have left because I had done all I could do.”

“So why did you stay?” Kara again asks in a soft voice. She has a half-smile on her face.

“Because you’re my best friend Kara.” Lena says it, but she looks down and away, unable to keep eye contact with the Kryptonian.

“Is that the only reason?” Kara reaches out with her hand, putting it under Lena’s chin and guides her face back up so they are again looking each other squarely in the eyes.

“Kara…”

“Please?” Kara’s voice is melodic, so soft and kind.

Lena takes in another breath, letting it out slowly as she stares into Kara’s eyes, searching for answers to unasked questions. Kara simply smiles at her, like she already has all the answers.

Lena, trying to regain some of the ground in this conversation, finally responds with “Because I am crushing on my best friend who I clearly thought was straight and a human. I was wrong regarding one of those facts. Could I have been wrong about the other one as well?”

Kara’s smile breaks open into the widest grin Lena has ever seen on her friend’s face. Kara lays her forehead onto Lena’s, closing her eyes, her entire body relaxing. “I’m so glad it’s not just me,” Kara says in a low voice, causing Lena’s eyes to go wide as she processes the meaning of that statement. Lena, realizing what this means, lets out a breath as she relaxes and lets her own eyes close, enjoying the closeness and intimacy of this shared moment with Kara.

A few moments of silence go by before Lena asks hesitantly, “Now what?” She is unsure of Kryptonian dating customs, unsure of whether Kara follows human or Kryptonian dating customs, or both. Lena is suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed because she has a whole new list of questions for her best friend to know how to go about dating her properly.

However, her thought train is interrupted in that moment by the sensation of soft, warm lips touching her own. It’s tentative at first. But only for a millisecond before Lena leans into the kiss herself, fully engrossed in the experience that is kissing Kara Danvers. Lena has to admit, she has never experienced anything quite like this. She feels an electrical sensation buzz through her entire body. Kara too, can feel her entire body reacting to kissing Lena Luthor. Every cell in her body feels suddenly charged up like she just flew next to the sun. Both women know that whatever there is between them, it’s different from anything they have ever felt for anyone else before. It’s exciting and frightening at the same time. A Super and a Luthor. Who would have thought?

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! :)


End file.
